Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

Seven Media Group’s 2009 annual report reveals profit dropped to AU$12m from AU$142m last year, a fall of 91.2 per cent. This is due to its writedowns—reducing the book value of its media assets because they were overvalued compared to the market value. A company statement says the writedowns reflect the “adoption of a conservative outlook given the current global economic difficulties”.

Despite this action, Seven reported a 16.8 per cent rise in net cash to AU$1.4b. Seven Network, Pacific Magazines and Yahoo!7 remain strong in the market. The media group also includes Sky News Australia (33 per cent stake) and TiVo (67 per cent of licenses).

APN News & Media’s net profit fell by 50 per cent to AU$36.1m in the last six months, and revenue was down 18 per cent to AU$516.7m.

Its outdoor advertising division has suffered and its 14 Australian daily newspapers have not seen improvement in trading this year. However, its 17 NZ titles – including the Herald – were in better shape than the same time last year. Australia’s radio division was also not performing well.

The company is considering charging for online content and was open to talks with its rival News Ltd to agree on a common plan. News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch advocates charging for online copy would compensate for the drop in advertising income. It’s doubtful that Sydney Morning Herald and The Age readers will be thrilled at the prospect.

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A video campaign to sell milk? In film noir? With slam poetry? Bold - which is precisely why Jonny Kofoed and Assembly didn't back down when creating a campaign for Fonterra's Anchor milk brand. He talks us through the campaign after picking up a Purple Pin for the effort at last year's Best Design Awards.

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Why we like it: Many brands worldwide put out ads and campaigns in light of International Women's Day last week, some with questionable reasoning (looking at you McDonald's). It's great to see inspiration paired with action with this particular campaign, with women able to make a call to a respective leader to ask career questions or get advice about a particular field. With 17 leaders available, including author Joy Cowley and scientist Michelle Dickenson, we hope many Kiwi woman took up the opportunity to chat.

Who's it for: Bags Not by Bcg2 and Go Well Consulting

Why we like it: A campaign that wants to save the world is a good one in our books. The 'Bags Not' campaign encourages Kiwis to say no to plastic bags and supports them to change their single-use habits. Short and sweet and not too preachy, the ad uses celebrities such as artist Dick Frizell and writer and TV presenter, Jaquie Brown to help Kiwi consumers make a behaviour change. However, the proof will be in the pudding to see if Kiwis can cut down on the 1.6 billion single-use plastic bags used each year.

Who’s it for: BNZ by Colenso BBDO

Why we like it: This is the second phase of BNZ’s ‘Bank of You’ and it continues the focus on community and empathy. Featuring different communities in different situations the ad shows banking is more than just suits and spreadsheets. From flower shops to friends, New Zealanders are diverse and so are their interests.